The Lebanese steel factory “STEEL CO” was the leader in its market for many years. Today, the management noticed that sales are decreasing since the market prices are dropping down due to unbeatable offers and discounts from other companies operating in the market for more than 20 years ago.

The management decided to use “Analytical Power” software to analyze the market by collecting data online via Internet from many websites and saving this data on large servers. As a result, “Steel Co.” decided to change its production line to manufacture steel products only to luxurious villas and residential homes, located in high level areas of Lebanon. This strategy helped the company to sell targeted customers at higher prices making higher revenues. The new system includes a Website allowing customers to select online the designs they wish, and even to customize the products based on quality, colors, styles, etc…
Case Questions (6 points each)

What is the force according to Porter’s competitive forces model, faced by the company? *
Customers
Suppliers
New market entrant 00000
Traditional competitor

What is the information system strategy (or strategies) used by the company to face the forces? *
Focus on market niche
Focus on market niche & Low cost leadership
Focus on market niche & Customer intimacy
Product differentiation & Customer intimacy
000000

What are the main IT components mentioned in this case? *
Software / Telecommunications / Physical facilities
Hardware / Software
Software / Telecommunications / Hardware
Telecommunications / Software

If the company is not sure which IS strategy to use in order to face the competitive forces, which model may best help in this case? *
Porter competitive forces
Value chain
Porter strategies
Economic impacts

To which type of system the “Analytical Power” software belongs? *
DSS
ESS
MIS
TPS

General Questions (2 points each question)

To monitor the status of routine internal operations and the firm's daily activities, managers need which of the following types of system? *
MIS
DSS
TPS
ESS

The divergent viewpoints about how resources, rewards, and punishments should be distributed, and the struggles resulting from these differences are known as organizational: *
Culture
Politics
Structure
Environment

Which of the following is not considered as a mediating factor in the relation between systems and organizations? *
Culture
Structure
Feedback
Management decisions

Which of the following is not considered as an organizational and behavioral impact of information systems on organizations? *
Flattening the organization
Culture
Post industrial organizations
Organizational resistance to change

The main goal of low cost leadership strategy is to: *
Have better time to market
Reduce number of employees
Have better products
Reduce operational costs

A C. R.M system is considered among the list of systems for different management groups *
True
False

Routines are also called standard operating procedures. *ch3
True
False

Information systems impact organizations only in one way: economically. *
True
False

According to Porter, there is only one force that may affect the position of a company in the market. *
True
False

IT education service is considered among the main IT infrastructure services *
True
False